Can sins be forgiven?
by Mousy C
Summary: Eloise Fair, younger sister of Zack Fair. Ex- First Class SOLDIER, has to confront her past so that she can have a chance at a better future.
1. Chapter 1

It happened that night. The alleys were empty and drowned in silence. It was past midnight so most people were already asleep. The whole atmosphere was depressing. Elly was the only one on the streets and she felt lonely. She could control that emotion for a while but it started to suffocate her. She loved the darkness but it started to eat her alive. It was sucking her in and she couldn't escape.

"Do I even want to escape?" She sighed and put on her helmet.

A lot of thing changed for her. After her brother died she got lost. He was the one who always encouraged her and showed her the brightest sides of life. Without him, she was empty. It wasn't a problem regarding friends, she had friends. They were more than willing to help her get over her loss. She wasn't the only one who got hurt. Her brother wasn't the only one who died. Besides, Aerith was an innocent victim.

"I guess promises are made to be broken" She started the engine of her motorbike and drove off into nothingness.

The desert was deadly silent. Not even the sound from the wind was heard; no sound whatsoever and that worried Elly. In that silence, one sound came out of nowhere and it took her by surprise. It came from two motorbikes. She tried to focus on what was happening around but her head hurt. Maybe it was from the Geostigma or maybe she was just too tired. She wanted to ignore the sounds and drove faster. They did the same. She couldn't escape; she had to confront them.

She was forced to stop when a different motorbike cut her path. She took off her helmet and glared at the young man in front of her.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked meanly. She didn't have time nor the mood to converse. She did looked closely at him, though. She was a perceptive woman. That boy looked awfully familiar. His medium silver hair and his green, cat-like eyes were triggering some old memories.

"We are your brothers" That definitely took her back. From what she remembered, she had just one brother who died two years earlier. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. That 'brother' subject was still touchy.

"My name is Kadaj and these are Yazoo "He pointed to her left where a boy with the same hair color, but different style, stopped his motorbike. His hair was longer and his eyes held longing. It wasn't something passionate, it was more like a child who was looking after his mother. "and Loz" He pointed to her right where another motorbike stopped. This one was taller and more muscular. However, he had short spiky silver hair. They all looked very similar to each other but at the same time, different.

"Why should I care who you are?" Kadaj scoffed but his expression was still nothing dangerous.

"You are our sister. We all came from the same Mother. You have a piece of her in yourself, like us." He looked very passionate about that subject. Against what he believed, she scoffed hatefully.

"I'm not interested" With one last glare, she started her engine and drove off. She couldn't see Kadaj watching and glaring at her the same way she did.

Shestarted to drive faster, trying to shake off his face. She noticed, though, that Yazoo and Loz followed her. She narrowed her eyes and took off her helmet. She threw it away, like it was nothing, and concentrated. Her eyes hardened. She grabbed a small rod from her bag and pushed a button on it. The rod became larger, to the height of a katana. She felt the ground shaking and the atmosphere changed drastically. There were the two boys following close behind but out of nowhere shadow creepers started to attack her too.

She was fighting the dark creatures on one side and she still had to defend herself from the two brothers. She had been through harder situation in life but with no active training anymore, she lost her will to fight. She pushed the engine harder, trying to lose them all but they were catching up very fast.

She completely forgot about Kadaj. When he appeared a few feet in front of her, she got surprised. They wanted to stop her but she had other plans. She sped up and waited patiently until she was just a feet away from him. That was when, with incredible force, she jumped with her motorbike over him. Unfortunately, in that moment, a shadow creeper launched at her and she lost her equilibrium. She fell right next to her bike.

She groaned and tried to get up. It was harder than she imagined. The fell was pretty rough.

"What do you want?" She asked again, getting the hair out of her eyes.

"We want our Mother." Yazoo responded. He was staring deeply into her eyes. She felt small and useless. Those boys beat her so easily.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Kadaj glared at her and bent to her level. He grabbed her chin and forced her face closer to his. Somehow, she found that position and those eyes very familiar.

"So sad" He actually looked pretty disappointed. "Seeing our Sister acting this way breaks my heart" His words almost sounded sincere and melancholic but that was easily blown away by a creepy smirk.

They got on their motorbikes and left. On the other side, Elly crashed back down. Her stomach started to hurt and so did her head. She felt like a hundredth flames enlightened into her body. It was an incredible pain and she didn't have the power to resist. Old memories started to flash through her eyes and she whined. She got overwhelmed by pain and she collapsed, blacking out.


	2. Chapter 2

Meanwhile a blonde spiky haired guy was checking his messages. He just got one from from his childhood friend.

_You got a call from Reno and them in Healing. They said it's a commission. Cloud, how have you been?_

Cloud took his time. He stared at the phone for a few minutes, thinking. In the end, he got on his motorbike and drove off.

He wasn't even out of the desert when he realized he was followed.

"Where is Mother?" Loz asked.

"We know you hide her, Brother" Yazoo continued.

Unfortunately for Cloud shadow creepers appeared out of thin air and started to attack him. On the otehr side, the two brother launched at him as well. He tried to dodge the creatures and defend himself from the brothers but it got too hard. He felt a sudden pain in his arm and stopped. The dark creatures launched at once at him but they didn't harm him at all. They just dissipated, like sand. He glanced towards the hill and saw a boy. He was standing there proudly for a moment until he decided to leave.

He drove for a few more miles when he saw a motorcycle left in the middle of nowhere. He went closer and was surprised to find a familiar face, lying on the ground.

"Wake up" He shook her once but she didn't react at all. "Come on Elly, wake up" After he shook her one more time, she flicnhed and opened her eyes. She shook his hand off her and rubbed her temples.

She raised her head and stared at Cloud. It had been a while since she last saw him. He looked deplorable. Maybe, just maybe, he was going through the same pain she was. That thought vanished as quickly as it came, though. It was different.

"What happened?" He asked and tried to help her up. She didn't take his hand nor his help. She got on her feet on her own. She looked at him with a poker face.

"I don't know." She said while her hands unconsciously placed on her stomach. "Where are you going?" She was trying to change the subject.

"I got a message from Reno. I'm going to Healing" She rubbed her neck and sighed. It had been some time since she last heard of Reno and the others.

"Do you want to come with me?" She was perplexed by that question. She took her time and thought about it.

"I wasn't invited" She responded while she was getting on her motorbike.

"It doesn't matter" She stared at him, debating. In the end, his sad eyes got under her skin. She agreed to follow him to Healing.


	3. Chapter 3

The two were getting pretty close to Healing when Cloud got two messages.

_Hey, it's me, Barret! I did it! A new oil field! OIL FIELD! A huge one too! And we're sticking to plan, so soon I'll be able to come and visit Marlene! Tell her for me! See ya!_

_Reno called again. He says to hurry but he sounded kind of strange…Be careful, ok?_

After the second message, Elly glanced to Cloud. She almost forgot about the others. She got so accustomed to being alone that she was afraid to meet them.

"Something's happening" She mumbled loud enough for him to hear. He didn't even look at her but still nodded. There was always something fishy about Reno. It usually meant Shinra wanted something and that was bad news.

When they arrived at the resort, there was just silence. Cloud was awaited, that was for sure. They got off their motorbikes and Elly let Cloud walk in first.

Cloud grabbed his katana out of safety issues with Reno. Elly didn't even move a muscle. When he opened the door, Reno launched at him. It looked childish. Reno was childish. She was still unsure of his mental state. He was the youngest turk and his skills were impressive. However, his personality still needed some work.

The red haired man tried another shot but Cloud walked right past him and closed the door into his face. Automatically, he closed the door into Elly's face too. Her eye started to twitch.

"Yo!" When the door didn't open, Elly placed her hand on Reno's arm. He looked shocked. He didn't see her there. "Eloise..." In one moment, Reno was thrown back on his ass while Elly entered the room.

Inside, she narrowed her eyes at Cloud. He looked passive. In front of them stood Rude. A black man who was twice Elly's body and height. He didn't have enough time to grab his electric rod. Cloud was a pretty fast fighter.

"Just as I expected from an ex-SOLDIER." A man in wheelchair trailed in slowly. He had most of his body covered by a blanket. "You haven't rusted a bit" The comment was addressed towards Cloud. When he saw the other fighter in the room, he smirked. "Eloise..."

Everyone had the same reaction. She didn't die and they knew it. She just isolated herself. They were making too much of a fuss over that.

"Is that you, Rufus? You've got no luck either" Being near Rufus Shinra was the beginning of a sad life. Both Eloise and Cloud knew that from experience. His father polluted the world and she was pretty sure Rufus wasn't going to be any different.

"The day of the explosion" Rufus started.

"What do you want?" Cloud asked impatiently. Still the man continued. "Just before the buildings started crumble"

"Who were the people who attacked me?" At that point, she glanced over to Cloud. She wasn't the only one who was attacked.

"Say something" Cloud pestered Rufus but still nothing. "I'm leaving"

"…lend us your powers" He wasn't referring only at Cloud and Eloise could feel that. His eyes trailed to her but she didn't move.

"Not interested" His response was clear. He had another chance though. Rufus turned his attention on Elly.

"Is that your answer, as well?" She just stared down at him.

"We at Shinra have a big debt to repay to the world. The responsibility of putting the world in its current, pathetic state...There's no helping people saying that it falls to us. Consequently, we must somehow repay this debt of ours." He wanted the help badly. He was even asking people who got through some traumatizing experiences.

"Let me in!" Reno was still outside.

"It's been two years, now that the world is on the speed again, what's the threat now? Well, that one's easy, Geostigma. And we have to think Sephiroth is the one responsible. The people blame mako energy, mako reactors, even the Life stream for causing the stigma. However, isn't it wrong to put the blame on it? The Life stream existed as long as the planet and even mako energy has been part of our life for 40 years. And yet, there's no mention about stigma in recorded history. So what happen during our time to change all that? I can only think about one thing. Sephiroth's awaken.

"Sephiroth's dead." Cloud added.

"Of course, but what about his mind. What if somehow he dissolve into the Life stream coursing with the planet diffuseness. I know, it's merely my speculation. But, there are possibilities right? And we can't cure the stigma until we know the truth. So we took the first step and went to look for traces of Sephiroth. Do you by any chance, still remember where is it?"

"The Northern Crater!" Reno responded enthusiastically.

"What do you think was there?" They waited. "Nothing. There was nothing. You don't have to worry about it. But something unexpected happened. Someone tried to get in our way. Those people who attacked you…They're Kadaj's gang."

"Kadaj…" Cloud bent his head.

"It seems that they mean to interfere with our plans." He stopped for a moment."Really…I can't figure why" That was an underestimation.

"Why did they attack me?" That was a question worth answering. They targeted Elly and Cloud. No one knew what was going to happen and what they wanted.

"You're with us, right?" They heard Reno from behind the door. Cloud hit it.

"Kadaj's gang is young and brutal. They're extremely dangerous. So we decide to try and hire a skilled bodyguard." She stared at Shinra. He was avoiding every important question.

"I'm a delivery man" Cloud bent his head and didn't dare look at Elly. They had similar experiences because they both met the same danger: Sephiroth. But somehow, their future just got tangled up.

"Is that what you think Elly? I know you have been aimlessly traveling around. Don't you want to return?" She didn't expect him to beg for her help too. She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"My life has nothing to do with you or your company. I believe you already had done enough" She had enough. Before she could hear Cloud's response, she opened the door and walked out. On the way, though, Reno grabbed her arm.

"Are you going to help us rebuild the world?" She scoffed and glared at him. Reno looked impassive. He wasn't scared of her. She shook his arm off and went back to her motorbike.

She waited a few minutes until Cloud got out. He looked annoyed.

"Is that all that we are?" He looked curiously at her. "SOLDIERS"

"Where are you going now?" He ignored her completely. She sighed and started the engine.

"I don't know"

"Come back with me. Tifa would be happy to see you." She didn't know what to say.

"Stop thinking so much. Just, come." She looked down to her hands and sighed.

"I guess it won't hurt"


	4. Chapter 4

On the way back to Edge, both warriors were silent. The hill was getting closer, same with the city.

"Let's stop here first" She almost didn't hear Cloud speaking. She was lost in her own thoughts.

That hill meant a lot for both of them. It had a lot of memories, bad and good.

While walking to that hill by foot, she started to remember...

_It was Elly's first day in SOLDIER and she already met some of the captains. She was very excited to see Zack._

_"I wonder if he will be happy" She wondered out loud._

_"I'm happy you're here, Elly" She heard his voice whispering into her ear. She didn't even realize he sneaked on her. She turned around slowly and smiled brightly._

_"Zack! You are?" She was very excited. She wanted to become a SOLDIER really badly and having his support meant the world for her. _

_"Who's this?" They both turned at the same time in the same way. It was funny how alike they behaved. The man who just entered the room was intimidating. However, his eyes held a lof of kindness, even if they were mako infused. _

_"Who are you?" She asked him while getting a closer look. He was handsome but old. However, he looked a lot like a more matured version of Zack._

_"Angeal this is my sweet, dear, extraordinary, funny, loud mouth" He took a big breath and continued."happy, messy, hyper little sister, Eloise" And he finished. Elly was amused but not really. It was weird how happy she felt. _

_"And Elly he is my mentor, Angeal" She looked at Angeal who had a blank face._

_"So how do you put up with him? Does he follow you like a lost puppy?" She asked the older SOLDIER. He seemed very amused by her question. Zack pinched her and narrowed his eyes playfully at both of them. _

_"He actually does, yes" Zack looked incredulously at his mentor while Elly started to laugh._

They were already on the hill when she remembered something else.

_"I can't believe it! I want another fight!" Zack threw his hands in the air like a drama queen. Elly rolled her eyes. They were training and Zack was loosing, big time._

_"Come on, I am younger than you and more inexperienced. You are either a lazy ass or don't take me seriously" Zack looked pretty pissed but they both knew he was just a sore loser. _

_"You're cheating somehow!" He walked closer to her and started to inspect her sword. It was stupid since she didn't even own one. That was given to her by her commander. _

_"There has to be something…" He mumbled while he started to rub his chin. She scoffed and pushed him. Since he wasn't paying attention, he lost his balance and fell._

_"I'm not cheating. You're just a sore loser" He rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand. Elly chuckled and helped him up. In the end, they were siblings._

Cloud was already in his own world while Eloise walked closer to Zack's sword. She touched it and closed her eyes.

_"Zack! I-I'm not ready" Even if he was encouraging her every day, she felt scared. _

_"Come on Elly! You're strong. You're going to be fine" But the mission was awful. She returned almost dead._

_She was laying on her bed in the hospital when she saw him coming in. She stared at him and simply started to cry. He sat on the bed and hugged her._

_"It's ok. I'm here" He was trying to calm her down and sooth her pain. _

_"I wasn't ready. I disappointed you, everyone. I'm not a good SOLDIER" She couldn't even look him in the eye._

_"It was just your first mission. There are a lot more, Elly. You'll do fine. You are a good SOLDIER"_

_"Really?" _

_"Yes. And I promise you I'll be there every time, encouraging you." She looked up at him and smiled._

_"But…what if you won't be there the next time?" She whispered for herself but he heard._

_"I promise I will never leave you, Eloise. I love you and I will always protect you. I am your older brother"_

"You lied"

She didn't mean it. She was sad and disappointed. She was still an innocent young girl even if she got through so much. She just wanted her brother to come and hug her. She opened her eyes and she realized that Cloud wasn't next to her anymore. She turned around to face an image she didn't want to see. Cloud was on his knees, clenching his arm tightly.

"Cloud?" He glanced at her but the pain was getting the best of him.

She didn't know how to react until she felt the same agonizing pain taking over her body. She clenched her hands around her stomach and gasped. It hurt even more than before.

She started to get images of old acquaintances out of nowhere. She could see Kadaj morphing into someone else. She could see him.

After a few more minutes, the pain subsided. She opened her eyes and saw another pair of arms around her.

"Cloud?" He seemed to feel much better. She shook his arms off and got on her feet. He was expecting an answer.

"What happened?" He was worried for her. That was a feeling she missed. Someone was trying to help.

"Geostigma. It's just that I have it on my stomach" He understood. He also had it on his arm. He knew what she was going through.

He was walking to his motorbike when he realized that she wasn't following him.

"Go. I'm going to stay a little more" He nodded and took off to the city.

**_I'm always here to protect you_**

She turned around shocked but no one was there. It was so strange. She could swear someone was right behind her. She glanced at the sword before she left.

"I wish I could have been there for you. Maybe then it would have ended differently. Maybe you would be here with us, alive" That was her only regret. She wasn't there when Zack needed her help.


	5. Chapter 5

Eloise was driving through the city, calmly watching her surroundings.. A lot of people were walking, running, talking, playing. Everything was full of life.

One thing that ticked her off and confused her at the same time was their behavior towards children. There were orphans who were hiding in different dark corners of the city. They were seen as outsiders and it enraged Elly.

She started to wander around the city by foot as well and, surprisingly, she started to walk towards those children. At first they were scared of her and just backed off. When she started to smile and grabbed her wallet, they titled their head to one side curious. She chuckled and signaled for them to come closer. She gave them money; enough for a good meal.

"Why are you hiding?" She figured that she could get some answers after she showed them she meant no harm.

"Nobody likes us. They think we have a disease." The young girl sighed. She was the oldest out of them all. "I guess we do. We are orphans but moreover, we have Geostigma" She knew exactly why people didn't like them. It broke Elly's heart. They were innocent children who didn't deserve that mean treatment.

She forced a smile and tugged the girl's hair behind her ear.

After such an acquaintance, she started to feel bad again. She had a gram of fault in their pain. She was part of that crisis.

Seeking for silence, Elly found herself in front of a familiar place. It was Aerith's church. She needed a moment to calm down and rearrange her thoughts.

Nothing looked different. The garden of flowers was the same. She felt relieved from a reason or another. When she walked closer, she realized there were people in there already. She met the two faces she wanted to see the last.

"What are you doing here, turks?" Reno was the first to turn around. He was trying hardly to carry someone but it was a little difficult. She eyed the body, thinking that it may have something to do with Shinra, It didn't. It was Cloud.

"Nice to see you again yo" She raised an eyebrow and watched as Reno tried again to carry Cloud. Rude already had a tight grip on Tifa. Wait...Tifa?

"What happened to them?" Elly furrowed her eyebrow in concern and walked closer to Rude. She grabbed Tifa from him and verified her pulse. She was alive but she didn't look well.

"We came here and found them like this, yo. It must have been that Kadaj" She glared at the red haired man. He smirked. He started to remember how fun it was to annoy her. He missed those times**. **

"Rude, take Cloud and I will carry Tifa" Rude nodded. She turned to Reno and bit her lower lip. "Show the way, idiot" He rolled his eyes but did lead the way to Seventh Heaven.

The place didn't change either. It might have been a little more organised but that was all. However, Elly saw the small details that showed signs of children.

Reno led the way upstairs and opened the door for Rude and Eloise. They placed Tifa and Cloud on their own beds and walked downstairs. Reno auto invited himself behind the bar and grabbed a drink.

"How come you choose to come back to Edge? Missed your old friends?" He raised his eyebrows up and down but Elly didn't budge. She contained her poker face.

"I certainly didn't miss you" His enthusiastic face dropped instantly. She was different. The girl he knew was happy, excited, lovable. The one he had in front of him was cold and selfish. There was nothing human in her, not anymore.

"Maybe you should think more about your attitude, Elly. The world didn't end in the moment you lost something" He grabbed her by the collar and glared at her.

"You're wrong" She grabbed his arm and started to dig her nails into the skin. "My life stopped in that moment. I lost everything that was dear to me. You have no idea how that feels" Even though her tone was cold and sent chills down Rude's spine, her face was expressionless.

The small confrontation stopped when they heard movements above.

"He woke up" Reno and Rude went upstairs while Elly stayed behind. She still had so many memories flashing through her eyes. she knew it wouldn't be a good idea to return to Edge but she couldn't lie to herself; she wanted to see her old friends again. She wanted to get rid of the loneliness.

In the moment she placed her foot upstairs, she could hear Reno's voice.

"You were heavy, yo."

She rolled her eyes. For understandable reasons, she didn't go any closer. She just remained near the stairs and listened.

"…you were leaving with some kids?" Rude asked getting Cloud's attention.

"It's empty" Reno finished. That wasn't good.

"It's ok?" Rude asked again. There was a pause. It ticked Elly off. They were talking about children not adults. It was a different matter. The kids had nothing to do with Sephiroth.

"I…" Was the only thing that came out from his mouth. She never thought he would descend to such a level.

"You're so annoying, yo" That was the last thing before Reno and Rude walked out the door and towards the stairs.

She stopped Rude.

"Where are the children?" He smirked knowingly and pointed at Cloud.

"You should help each other or you're going to end up in a dark whole" That was all he said before he walked away.

She didn't feel like she was ready to see Tifa awake but with a heavy sigh, she went inside.

Tifa was, thankfully, still unconscious. Cloud was just staring into nothingness.

"You took me with you yet you are running away from everyone else? Do you think being miserable is something we have to go through?" He didn't budge. She was slowly getting annoyed.

"It's my fault for what happened" She scoffed and walked further more into the room.

"What happened to you, Cloud? You weren't like this. How can you stay here when those kids are in trouble? Are you going to let the past control you?" He bent his head, disappointingly. She placed a hand on his head and messed his hair.

"I did change too. I think it's my fault too for what happened. Everything had a big impact on me but Cloud…look around you. You have to live in the present. Grow up" Even though she had spoken such big words, she felt like those were more meant for her. That was what she thought and what she wanted. But, it was easier to speak than to take the initiative.


	6. Chapter 6

After such a wonderful conversation which led nowhere, Elly started to wander around the house. It didn't change much. She entered a room at the end of the hall. It was simple and there was only one bed. There was nothing interesting in it. She sighed and left the room. There was nothing that would show Cloud's presence in the whole house. It was like he wasn't even living there.

She was lost in her thoughts when Rude motioned for her to follow him.

"I can't. I can't save anyone, I don't think. Neither family or friends."

It was Cloud's voice. Tifa must have woken up and lectured him. It sounded like something she would do. Elly smiled unconsciouly. She missed that.

"Drifting, drifting"

"How long are you going to drag along like that, yo?" Reno's interruption surprised Cloud. He must have thought they left. She did too until she saw them in the hall.

"You couldn't find them?!" Tifa shouted. She must have been really worried. Elly didn't enter. She didn't want to embrace the warmth yet. It was too sudden. She hid behind Rude and remained silent.

"There was a witness who saw them being taken away, yo" Reno responded.

"Where did they go?"

"The Forgotten Capital" Rude said. He took a dramatic pause and continued. "It's their base." She didn't notice but Cloud glanced at her, maybe for support. She sighed.

Somehow they ended up going together. They were on their way to Ajit. Actually, they were very close. Eloise glanced at Cloud and saw him completely lost in his own world. Her eyes traveled from him to their surroundings.

Suddenly, she felt a presence near her. It felt soothing and she relaxed instantly. She felt secure and peaceful like nothing had the power to harm her.

_"You're thinking way too much. Just relax" _That voice again! She looked up to see something in the distance. It was a boy with black spiky hair. She tried to take a closer look and find out who that person was.

_"Look at you. What have you became?"_ That voice sounded hurt. She bent her head and sighed.

"It wasn't my choice" She mumbled.

_"Stop blaming yourself!"_ She tried to look at anything but the person in front.

"But I wasn't there. I wasn't there when you needed me the most" She was dissapointed in herself and her actions. There was no one to blame for her brother's death but her selfishness.

_"These two are really stubborn."_

The second voice was a woman's. It was sweet and comforting. She raised her head but whoever was in front, disappeard. She could see just trees and the empty road.

"Cloud…" She wanted to ask him if he felt and heard that too. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by gun shots. She turned her head and saw the three brotehrs. The two ex-SOLDIERs tried to dodge the shots.

They were getting closer when out of nowhere, kids jumped in their way. The closest to them was a young boy who, from what she remarked, Cloud recognized.

They both stopped, Cloud not so good. He was thrown off his motorcycle when he abruptly stopped.

"So he did show up!" Kadaj started. He glanced at Eloise and smirked. "And he came with a surprise"

"We came for the children" Cloud was pretty calm.

"This guy is our Brother!" Kadaj started completely ignoring Cloud. "And this girl is our Sister. But you know…it's a shame. They're traitors." He said while pointing his sword at Cloud's neck. Kadaj was ready to strike until they heard Marlene's innocent voice. Taking advantage, Cloud took his katana and leaned to Kadaj. Yazoo and Loz came too and Elly grabbed her rod.

It was a disaster. Eloise was trying to dodge Yazoo while Cloud wasn't in his best shape . She jumped in front of Cloud and dodge the gun shots coming towards him.

"Concentrate on Kadaj. I can't take care of these two" He tried to protest but she shut him up with a glare. He was on hsi way to Kadaj when Loz slammed his fist into the earth, making the water below rise like a big wave. Yazoo jumped over it making it even powerful. Eloise ran fast next to Cloud and placed her hand over his. He didn't know what was going to happen and, truthfully, she wasn't sure of what she was doing either. She tried, though, to remember what she had been taught.

_A younger version of Eloise was leaning on a tree in the Training Room, not really in the mood of training. She felt someone sneaking on her and jumped out of the way._

_"Nice try" that wasn't something new. It happened before. She was already used to him appearing out of nowhere._

_"It worth at least one try" He was half smiling half smirking. He sat in her place and patted the ground, next to him. When they both got comfortable on the ground, he got a book out of his jacket and started to read it._

_"LOVELESS. Can you do anything but that?" She was joking but he rolled his eyes at her comment._

_"I do a lot of things" She chuckled. Even if she was 16 years old, her mind went to more adult-ish things. _

_"I'm sure you do" She titled her head to the right, trying to get a better view of him. He looked bored. "Why don't you train me?"He looked up from his book._

_"Now now…"He started with a smirk. "Why would I train you? This is Sephiroth's business" She raised an eyebrow._

_"I don't remember making him my tutor. He helps me improve because he wants to. You too can help me improve if you want to" She leaned closer to him. "Do you want to, Genesis?" For a moment, she thought he just choose to ignore her. However, she was someone that Genesis couldn't say no to. He placed the book back into his jacket and turned to her._

_"Fine" His response was simple. She grinned victoriously. However, she couldn't even take her katana out when she felt his rapier pointed at her neck. _

_"I take it like I won, already?" She narrowed her eyes at his proud smirk. He was too cocky for his own good._

_She jumped over him and hit him hard in the back of his head. He smirked finally taking it seriously, maybe. He raised his sword and trailed his hand over it. The sword started to glow._

_"I really like that sword" She mumbled. She was completely entranced by that sword. _

_The fight was intense and fortunately for her pride, it was a tie. After they finished, they sat back under the tree. He was reading and she was thinking._

_"How did you do it?" She asked _

_"How did I do what?"_

_"The thing with the trailed your hand over it and then BANG!" She clapped and did a loud sound. "You had energy flowing through it"_

_"Actually, I hadn't done anything. That's just how it work" He shrugged. That was going nowhere. He was too interested in that stupid romance novel. She wanted his attention. The only way she could have it was to take the book out of his hand. She did that and started to sway it in front of him._

_"Teach me" That certainly sounded more like an order than a requirement. He stared into her eyes and blinked._

_"You don't have a sword and I don't know how to teach you. It has to come from inside of you, I guess" He pushed her back and grabbed his book. He went back to reading._

It has to come from inside of you. Those were the words she needed. She had to look into her own body and find that energy.

The wave was getting closer and grew even bigger.

"Point the katana at it" She ordered Cloud. He didn't dare comment and did what she instructed him to.

"Let's hope for the best" Cloud's eyes narrowed at her words. Her eyes closed and she started to concentrate. She felt the energy building up inside of her. She gripped Cloud's hand tighter and felt the energy slipping into his katana. She opened her eyes and the energy just flew and destroyed the wave.

Eventually, Cloud did go and fight was alright fighting Yazoo and Loz on her own. Of course it wasn't so hard to dodge and fight but it was tiring. She heard a loud noise and turned around. Cloud was on the ground. She went beside him. Right on time a long red cloak appeared from thin air and grabbed Cloud Eloise with it.


	7. Chapter 7

"You really can't save anyone, can you?" Vincent asked Cloud. He got them in a isolated place. Eloise was watching silently the Life Stream.

"Vincent, what's happening?"

"I come here a lot. So I saw Kadaj and his gang here." He took Cloud's arm and stared into his eyes.

"The Geostigma… It seems that the cause is an overloading of the system to remove parasites in the body. There's a flow through the body like the Life Stream. It fights against the invasion of harmful substances."

"Harmful substances…"

"The Sephiroth element, Jenova's cells, call it what you want." Cloud glanced to Elly and sighed. She ended up like that because of him.

"You don't have to stare, Cloud. I have been part of SOLDIER. Of course I got tested on" Her tone was blank. She wasn't sad and she was definitely not sorry for entering SOLDIER. She knew what she was getting herself into.

"You know a lot about it" Cloud turned his attention on Vincent.

"Tseng and Elena. They were carried here on the edge of death. It seemed that they had been put through some hideous torture. I managed to save them, but…well… I'm not sure how well…"

"Torture?"

"You reap what you saw. It seems they came into possession of Jenova's head" Well that explainedthe whole situation. She chuckled, though it was muffled by her knees. She was on the ground, knees close to her chest and head resting on them.

"Why doesn't that surprise me"

"And the Mother that Kadaj's gang is searching for is…"

"That abominable thing which heaven sent." He took a pause.

"Jenova" She mumbled while still staring at the Stream.

"If they want to, they could even remake Sephiroth" He continued and glanced to the younger woman. She looked diferent than how he remembered her. She used to talk a lot but now, she seemed very lonely and depressed.

"The war would begin again" She mumbled again.

"Kadaj…what is he?"

"Humph, I don't want to think about it."

"Those eyes"She started turning to the two guys. "I used to stay and stare at them. I saw them throughout the good and bad times" The men stared at me until they heard movements from the bush/ Cloud grabbed his sword and got on his feet. Eloise was indifferent.

Marlene ran out and straight to Cloud. Elly watched the young girl. She was an innocent victim, tangled into something bigger than her. Elly caught Vincent glance at her.

For a moment in time, she wanted to get over the pain. She wanted to rest her head on someone's shoulder. That happened once and it didn't last more than one week. That person who she tried to be happy with was Vincent. He wasn't asking questions and they both knew they were in the same boat. But, Eloise's heart wasn't broken entirely. She couldn't forget her first love and she couldn't get over it.

"Cloud! Denzel and Tifa, they…!" Marlene's voice got Elly back to the present world.

"Tifa is alright" Cloud finally spoke.

"I want to talk with Tifa!" Marlene ordered. Elly almost gave a small laugh. She used to be like that too. Cloud searched for his phone but he didn't have it. Marlene turned to Vincent."Do you have one?" He took out his cape showing he didn't. Finally she looked at Elly. She didn't have one.

"I can't believe it" She said. That was a curougeous kid.

"Vincent, Elly can you take Marlene back to the store? I'm going to talk to Shinra about this."

Elly got on her feet and scoffed. He was running from his responsabilities.

"I can't approve." Vincent responded. He stared at Elly and his eyes slowly trailed to Cloud.

"But…" Marlene glared at Cloud.

"I don't care about you anymore, Cloud! Why won't you listen to what we're saying?! " She went to Vincent abd hid behind his cloak.

"Marlene. Just wait a little longer. The fight is going to begin now. But we can't just fight. You understand, right?" That was awkward. He was running away from a fight.

"I don't understand" She said.

"Cloud, is this really about the fight?" Cloud stared at the ground, remembering what he said back at the bar.

_"Where did they go?"_

_"The Forgotten Capital" Rude said. He took a dramatic pause and continued. "It's their base." Cloud glanced to Eloise, looking for an answer. _

_"Take care of it." Everyone looked at him perplexed by his answer. "I'm going to talk to Rufus."_

_"Don't run! I know you are. Even if you find the children, you might not be able to do anything. They might be somewhere that we can't get them back. You're scared of that, aren't you? But you have to react now, to more of this! A burden? Well there's no helping that, it's a heavy burden!" Reno and Rude were trying to get out of the room, hitting each other for the great escape. Elly couldn't move. Tifa's words got deep into her soul as well._

_"Unless you want to live all alone, you have to deal with that! You don't want to be alone, do you? Even though you never answer, you always have your phone with you"_

_"You go yo." That was all Reno said before he walked out._

_"Have we lost to our memories?" Cloud looked back down when he started to drift into a different world._

_"But...we just let her die." She heard him mumbling._

_"She wasn't the only one" It was the first time she spoke and she got Tifa's attention. The brunette's eyes got wide and for a moment, she looked happy and relieved. _

_"Elly…" Tifa's eyes reminded Eloise why she didn't want to turn back. It was the guilt._

_"Stop already" She heard a female voice that sounded familiar. She glanced around the room but there was no one except her, Cloud and Tifa._

_"Hey...why don't you forgive yourself? Why don't you help her forgive herself?" Cloud and Elly stared at each other and, at the same time, looked down. They were ashamed._

"Can sin be forgiven?" Cloud's question got Eloise back from her flashback.

"…I've never tried it" She looked at Vincent and could still see the sorrow behind those red eyes. He was the same heartbroken, mysterious guy. Just gazing into his eyes was enough to know he got through some big shit in his life.

"Tried it? Tried it…" He bent his head and thought about it. When he looked up he first glanced at Elly. He was going to try, and he was going to make her try too.

"Marlene, we're going home!" The little girl came out and nodded. She looked up at Eloise and smiled, taking her hand. The woman looked a little taken back but didn't push her little hand away. She took Cloud's hand too and they started to walk. I

Eloise looked at Vincent over her shoulder and smirked.

"See you soon" Vincent nodded to her.

"I'll let you know how it turns out!" Cloud said giving a small wave.

On their way back to their motorcycles Elly let go of Marlene's hand. She felt the need to go back into the city. right then. Something was going wrong.

"Something's wrong. Meet you in the city" She said and got on her motorcycle.

"Will you leave again?" She stopped dead in her tracks and looked back at Marlene.

"Does it make a difference?" She shook her head.

"I want you to stay with us. I'm sure Denzel would like it too." Elly stared at her. She wanted her to stay? Why would she want that? He didn't even know her that well!

"But"

"Why don't you stop searching reasons? It's time to move on, Eloise" Cloud said. Marlene nodded smiling. Elosie was speechless. Try and become normal again? Was that possible? What about the guilt and the pain?

On the way back to Edge, Eloise had the most important flashback. It was about him. Again.

_It was a great day for training. Too bad Elly felt like being lazy. She was on the couch, in silence, looking outside the window._

_"Don't you have training?" She looked to the door and saw Sephiroth. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and one eyebrow raised. He didn't look happy. _

_"Can I take a day off?" He looked like he was contemplating my question. In the end he sighed and nodded. He left right after._

_"This is so boring" _

_A few hours later, training didn't sound like such a bad idea. It was noon and everyone was doing whatever they wanted. The training was over._

_"Wait…training's over…this means the training room is free…" She grinned and ran to the training room._

_It was exactly as she thought. _

_"What are you doing here, Eloise?" When she heard the end of the sentence she knew who it was. She rolled her eyes and turned around to face the intruder._

_"Why, kind sir, it's me. You're beloved princess" She replied bemusedly. He shook his head smiling. Genesis was the first friend she made in SOLDIERS. Even if they fought and had a lot of arguments he was still special for her. _

_"What is going through that little head of yours?" She scoffed and watched as he walked, slowly, until he was in front of her. _

_"I love my life" She started. "I love being here. But I'm worried. My first mission was a failure. I don't want that to happen again" She finished looking at her hands. She felt two fingers touch her chin. He grabbed her face closer and forced her to look into his eyes. They were beautiful, she remarked._

_"You have your brother, your friends and even Sephiroth" He chuckled at the end. She smiled looking at him. He always knew how to make her smile and not just that. Whenever she was sneaking on him, she could see how beautiful he actually was. She always had butterflies into her stomach when he was watching her fight or just stand still. _

_"Why do you read Loveless over and over again? Is it really an obsession?" She was interested, for real. _

_"I guess I just…" He couldn't finish because she did for him._

_"…want to feel loved?" He stared at her for a long time and nodded. She got out from his eyes' trance and changed the room back to normal. The whole conversation took place into a park, like always. They liked to transform the training room into a park. _

_"Maybe if you look better around you, you'll find someone who loves you" Her words struck something in him and she knew that. She just hoped he would take the initiative soon._


	8. Chapter 8

The city was in total chaos. Eloise's eyes widened at the sight. She blinked repeatedly until she got a grip on her mental state. It reminded her of the first time there was a crisis. One when a lot of people died.

Her eyes traveled towards the center of the square. There were a lot of people listening closely to someone. She got off her motorcycle and walked through the crowd. In front was Yazoo, giving some kind of speech. Around Yazoo was a chain of children. They were like statues that had the role to protect their leader.

"Hey! Do you hear me?" A man tried to get one kid to talk with him. The kid didn't move or blink.

"Why are you doing this?!" Another man, held back by his wife, exclaimed.

Eloise watched the chaos around her; the shouts and the pleads. She didn't know anyone in the crowd and she didn't know any child but it still broke her heart.

One girl caught her attention in that mess. It was the same one she talked to earlier that day. She was next to a young boy with brown hair and deep green eyes. She walked towards them, trying not to get any attention on her. She bent to their level and shook the girl slowly, not to hurt her. She didn't move.

"What happened to you?" She frowned and tried her luck with the boy. Since he had clearer eyes, she could look closely into them. His eyes were blank and the iris was dilated. She got a bad feeling.

When she raised her head, she saw Yazoo and Loz nodding to each other. She was pretty sure they had a bigger plan than giving a speech. Yazoo raised his hand at some man and with a flick of his fingers, a lot of shadow creepers appeared out of thin air.

The crowd got scared and dispersed. Some were trying to save their own lives while others tried to grab one or two children on the way too.

"The children aren't in danger. We are" She mumbled.

In the place she was, there were no shadow creepers, or at least, none were launching at her. She tried to shake the children to reality again but none were moving. Her eyes trailed back to the brothers. They each gripped on a pair of chains.

Reno and Rude made their appearance.

"Mom is there, isn't it?" Yazoo asked the two turks.

"Why do you say this?" Rude asked the two silver haired brothers, instead of giving a response.

She couldn't make out their next exchange of lines because a shadow creeper launched at her from behind. She avoided it but another one appeared. She sighed in annoyance. With one hand, she tried to protect the children but with the other, she just tensed it enough to canalize her energy into it. She threw the wave of energy at the monster and it dissipated.

Her mako infused eyes started to sting and she knew that was a sign to stop using the mako flowing through her body.

She was a little overwhelmed by the sudden pain in her body. That wasn't only the Geostigma, it was something that ran deeper into her veins. After she calmed down, she realized that something was different. She glanced to whatever the whole crowd directed their attention to. She definitely didn't expect that.

She saw a huge monster descending from the sky. He landed on the statue in the middle.

She glanced to other sides of the square and caught glimpse of Reno launching at Yazoo. After he remarked the creature above, he stopped abruptly. He also hit Rude on the head with his rod. The black turk regained his balance quickly and looked up to the creature too. The monster grabbed the chains and broke them in two.

After realizing what that was, both turks retreated. Ok, they ran away but it still counted as retreat. Yazoo and Loz followed them.

Eloise wasn't in any danger for the moment. She rubbed her forehead. The monster's red eyes trailed over the city. He formed a blue ball of energy and launched his attack. Eloise eyes widened and tried to drag the children with her. They didn't budge. The attack was powerful enough to throw everyone off.

Eloise grabbed the girl's hand but she didn't have time to touch the boy. She got thrown back a few good feet.

She groaned and felt pain in her left arm. She glanced to the body lying beside her. The girl stirred and woke up. She glanced around her and got scared.

"Run away and hide, alright?" The girl recognized Eloise and nodded. The ex SOLDIER got on her feet and watched the kid running away. She turned her attention on the city. Her eyes caught Reno and Rude fighting Yazoo and Loz. They were losing badly. She sighed and for the first time in two years, she felt the need to fight.

She ran over there with a new desire running through her veins. She kicked Loz and sent him flying into his brother. She walked in front of Reno and glanced at him, though she didn't seem to express any emotion.

"Are you alright, girly?" The red haired man glared at her, though it was playfully and scoffed.

"I was doing just fine. I was ready to punch him but then you came" She smirked.

From the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the monster hovering over the green eyed boy. She felt the impulse to run there and save him but someone else already took care of it. She backed off a little. The adrenaline was slowly slipping from her body and so was her will to fight. She got scared.

It wasn't the fight or her enemies. No, it was something uncommon. It was guilt. It was friendship. Barret saved the kid and he wasn't the only one who arrived unexpectedly. Red XIII and Cait Sith jumped into the battle as well.

"Maybe it's time to fight back the past" That was Rude speaking. He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. She was an amazing fighter. It was a disappointment not to use her skills at their true value.

"Maybe" Rude went to Reno and they both stared at her. She glanced between them and the monster. She could stay and watch or help her friends. "Friends..." That word meant a lot for Eloise. It meant salvation. She closed her eyes tightly and tightened her fists.

She breathed out slowly and relaxed. That was what she liked to do and what she was trained to do. She was a soldier of the human race. She had to live up towards the expectations.

Reno stared intensely at her back.

"Do you think she will let it go, yo?" Rude nodded. She was ready. She knew that too.

She ran towards the monster with a small smile on her face. It was time.

She arrived just on time to kick a few shadow creepers off Tifa. Cid took the other half.

"Nice to see ya, Elly!" Her small smile became wider. She nodded at the smiling man and faced Tifa. "See the new improved Sierra!" He said while pointing up. "I'll take you in a tour after." She chuckled. Some things never changed.

"Eloise, you-" She interrupted Tifa and messed the kid's hair.

"It's time for a new beginning" Both women smiled at each other and nodded.

"Where can I find a phone?" Eloise turned her head in time to see Vincent.

"Who's he?" Tifa smiled at the boy and responded.

"They're our friends." For a moment, Elly though of her brother as a child. But, she didn't feel hurt anymore. Maybe it was the meeting with Cloud or with her old friends but she felt lighter.

Cloud arrived a few moment later.

"Marlene is safe. I left her at the bar." Elly's eyes trailed slowly on a distingtive sword that Cloud grabbed out.

"Do you feel that too?" His eyes were on Elly. She blinked. "It feels a little lighter" She opened her mouth but she made no sound. After the incident with Zack, Eloise didn't use her fighting abilities anymore. She gave up. But now, now she had a second chance.

"I was ready to drag myself along until there was nothing left" Cloud's words cut deep into her soul.

"I'm going back to the bar. I'll be waiting with Marlene." The boy ran off but stopped abruptly and turned around. "We'll see you there. Won't we Cloud?" The blonde nodded making the boy smile brightly.

"It's time to fight, Ely" She got taken back. His smile, though, reassured her that they were ready to get over their guilt. Tifa got on Fenrir while Eloise cleared her head. She bit her lip and nodded. They had to help their friends.

"Time to help your friends, sissy. Move on and let them make you happy"

Those words came from nowhere but they warmed up her cold heart. She closed her eyes, proceeding what she had heard. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"You're right"


	9. Chapter 9

Being pretty fast, Eloise caught up to Cloud and Tifa. Barret was close to be hit by the monster when she jumped and grabbed him.

"Fancy seeing you here, Els." It felt nice to be called that nickname. She nodded and looked up at the monster. Vincent started to shoot at it but it didn't affect the huge creature at all. Cid jumped on it and stabbed the monster's back. It started flying around like a lost bird and hit a tower; luckily Cid was saved by Red XIII who took him away just in time. Eloise was jumping from one place to another, throwing balls of electricity at the monster. The behemoth roared and got ready to attack but Yuffie and Vincent grabbed his attention.

Eloise stopped on a building and simply watched. Everyone was risking their lives while she wasn't using her full capacity. Yuffie was close to be hit by an attack when Cid jumped in and helped her. The ball of energy went upwards, towards Barret who got saved by Cloud. Now that Cloud was there, he had to do something. Everyone tried their best and he had to be the one to give the last blow.

He started to jump from one point to the other, trying to get higher in the sky, closer to the behemoth. He had the Buster Sword; Zack's sword. Seeing how hard Cloud tried to regain his real self Elly realized that maybe she should do that too. She should try toregain few parts of her old personality. She grabbed the rod she kept with her every time and shook it to the side, making it grow bigger. She jumped from tower to tower and finally on the creature. She hit it again and again but at some point it threw her back. Next was Cloud.

"Glad to see you doing something." She rolled her eyes but she wasn't mad. She hit his arm playfully.

"Shut up" She didn't have anything to lose. She had just a few old friends to gain back.

Eloise looked back to the monster to see it coming towards them. Cloud mixed the two swords and jumped at it again. He did push the monster and it did fall down but that couldn't had been all. Her eyes narrowed while trying to look closer at what was happening up there. The behemoth was in the middle of forming a huge ball of energy in its mouth. It flew up in the sky, Cloud was following it closely. Barret was the first one who helped Cloud fly further by grabbing and pushing him in the air. After hitting the creature a few times he fell but Cid came on time and pushed him with his spear. Red XIII flew by and pushed him further. Next were Yuffie and Vincent. Still he had to reach higher. He was getting closer to where Elly was. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she had blue lines around her iris. When Cloud got close enough, she used her energy to help him reach higher. The creature was ready to strike. Tifa gave a last push.

Eloise fell next to Vincent, on a building and watched. The monster's ball of energy was huge and Cloud went right through it. She gasped. At one moment, Elly started to feel fuzzy on the inside. Her heart was beating faster. She saw a hand reaching for Cloud through that immense ball. It was weird but no one seemed to remark it.

"Zack, help your friend" She mumbled loud enough for Tifa and Vincent to hear. In the end he did kill the monster. The one thing that got both hers and his attention was the blue light coming from a close tower. It was Kadaj. Cloud rushed after him while Eloise choose to take her time. She knew it was his fight even if she was in pain as well. She knew that it wasn't her place; she didn't have to come in between. Not yet.

"Let's follow him closely" She told Tifa who nodded. She glanced at Cid who, understanding her wish, nodded. In no time they were in Sierra, going after Cloud. They couldn't see much because they weren't as fast as the ones below.

"Closer" She really wanted to know what was happening down there.

When they caught glimpse of Cloud, he was fighting Kadaj. Eloise's face was glued to the front windows of Sierra. Cid went closer and Yuffie shouted something about having materia.

"Hey, Cid! Land this junk heap!" Elly chuckled. She really missed her antics.

"Shut up! You want off, then jump! Get off my back!"

"Let them fight." Vincent shut them up instantly.

"It's their fight. But for how long" Her eyes were fixed on the two.

"Huh?"

"That guy is a remnant of Sephiroth. Think of him as a sort of larval form" He continued.

"Larva? You mean he's an insect?!" Elly almost forgot the level of stupid things Yuffie used to say.

"Calm down, princess." Cait shut Yuffie up.

"You mean that larval is going to become Sephiroth?" Red asked Vincent.

"Vincent, does Cloud know about Kadaj?"

"Maybe." Elly sighed. It was such a complicated matter.

"Kadaj is just a puppet" Vincent nodded towards her. That was more of a thought for herself but everyone ended up hearing it.

At one point, Eloise narrowed her eyes at the sight in front of her and tightened her grip on her rod. She saw Kadaj falling down smirking but after a few more minutes, at a closer look, they all saw that wasn't Kadaj anymore.

"It's time" Eloise turned 180 degrees and walked towards the exit. She had to get down there no matter what.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Cid shouted after her but she became deaf of any disturbing noise. She had just one aim.

She landed perfectly on the ground, in front of Cloud. His eyes scanned her from head to toe.

"Eloise, oh my how much you have grown" She kept a blank face and didn't say anything. Black clouds invaded the sky. However, her eyes didn't leave Sephiroth.

"One day we'll find a new planet and on its soil we'll create a shining future."

"What will happen with this planet?"

"Who knows, I guess that depends on you"

The two clenched their swords at each other. Eloise tried to get into the fight but Sephiroth was avoiding her. It was annoying. Cloud was being pushed and hit many times. Sephiroth's power was obviously bigger than his. She couldn't do anything but watch and it didn't look good for Cloud at all. She had to move a lot to see the fight. Sephiroth was trying to get as far as he could from her. She was confused but at the same time, pissed off. Cloud was on his sword while a big pile of rocks was ready to fall on him. She jumped and grabbed him out of the way quickly.

"Don't get in people's business, Elly. I thought you learned something from me" She glared

"Having you as a mentor helped me, Sephiroth. I got trained by you but you also became a friend. I opened my eyes and realized what real life is. I saw pain, disappointment, darkness but I also saw what happiness feels like. You opened up to me and I got see your feelings. Too bad you don't have them anymore" Her words seemed to cut deep into Sephiroth's soul. She was ready to fight. Her mako infused eyes started to glow as well as her right hand. From pure energy she created a sword; one she hadn't used in 2 years. She cut her finger on it and the blood started to flow through the sword towards the tip. The sword started to glow even brighter until it suddenly stopped. Eloise had in her hand a beautiful shaped sword, one that looked feminine but dangerous. She launched her first attack on him.

"You changed, Eloise. Was it because of your brother's death?" He asked through the sound of swords clenching. She put more force into her attacks after hearing about Zack. "Or maybe because your friends died?" She clenched her jaw and pushed her sword against his further, making him go several steps back. "I know. The reason is Genesis, isn't it?" She closed her eyes tightly and sighed. "He left you." He smirked knowing how he shot a nerve.

"Shut up." She mumbled. "SHUT UP!" She was mad. She couldn't control herself anymore. Her eyes glowed a dark blue and her energy went out of control all around her. She started to form balls of energy and shot them towards him. She didn't even see him when he got sneaked behind her. He hit her her hard in the back, throwing her into a building. However, she balanced herself in the air and landed on her feet. She lunged at him again, her sword ready to strike. For a moment, Sephiroth could swear he saw red lines along her sword. They looked almost the same as Genesis'. She definitely learned a lot from him and the rest.

The second attack held more force and was more exact. She hit him in the stomach and scraped his cheek. Unfortunately, she was lost into her rage and Sephiroth knew exactly where her weak point where. He blocked her right hand and grabbed her by the neck. He stuck his sword into her side and threw her into another building. She couldn't find any balance and fell like a rock. She started to spit out blood.

He fell down as well, more gracefully, and walked closer to her. He grabbed her by the neck again and pulled her face closer to his.

"You don't have to fight me Eloise. I am not your enemy. I taught you everything you know. I didn't kill your brother, I didn't kill Angeal and most definitely I didn't take Genesis from you. You don't have a reason to hate me. I was your mentor. I was the first one who gave you what you always craved, respect." Her eyes widened after she heard his words. He was right.

"You took lives, Sephiroth. You started the crisis. You started the pain" He shook his head lightly.

"You still don't understand, do you?" She looked a little taken back. What did he mean? His face was just a few inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her face.

"Let her go" Luckily Cloud came right on time. Sephiroth turned his attention back on Cloud. He glanced at her over his shoulder and smirked. It didn't look necessarily evil. It looked familiar. They began another fight. She slipped on the ground, clenching her side tightly.

"What are you talking about? What don't I understand?" He couldn't possibly have meant he had feelings for her. Maybe not now but when he was her mentor? But she knew that couldn't have been true. She never saw him like that. She never saw the signs because she was always concentrated on someone else.

She tried to continue watching what she could from her fight. But, her vision got blurry and she couldn't make out their faces anymore. In the end, she blacked out.

She woke up in what looked to be a garden. It was beautiful. It made her feel safe.

"Am I dead?" She asked no one particularly. However, she heard someone chuckling.

_"No. You are definitely not dead"_ She looked over her shoulder and saw someone she missed a lot.

"Zack! But if you are here them I'm dead" He shook his head and walked closer.

_"Not yet_" She scoffed. He smiled softly and messed her hair. "You didn't change at all, sis"

"I miss you, Zack" She placed her hands around his torso and hugged him tightly. He sighed and placed his hand around her as well.

_"You have to go back and live your life, Elly. You'll see, things will change. Just wait a little bit longer._" She raised an eyebrow and commented something but it was hard to understand. The sound was muffled by his chest.

"What?" He winked and laughed lightly.

_"Hope can change the fate"_ That was the last thing he said before he disappeared.

_"Take care of yourself Eloise. And never give up on those who care about you_" She glanced around and saw the shadow of a woman. After that she fainted again.

Eloise woke up under the intense stare of several people. She opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She glanced around and realized she is in Aerith's church, right in the middle actually, where the flowers once were. Now, instead of flowers was a lake. A few feet from her was Cloud who had a few kids around him. She walked slowly through the water towards him. Her hands placed on her side unconsciously but there was no wound. He looked fine, as well. Her eyes traveled around and saw a lot of people there, looking at her and Cloud.

"It's like she said. Stay here and they will come back" A little girl told them. It was the same she tried to protect and talked to before. Cloud glanced to Elly.

"Welcome home" It was the child with deep green eyes. Cloud raised his head while Eloise looked down at her hands.

"Home"

That was a word she almost forgot. A word she haven't used in more than 2 years. The entire group of friends she made during the crisis was in front of them, watching them with smiling faces.

"I'm home" For Cloud, it meant home but for Elly, she didn't know what it meant. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. "I won't let you go away again. I made a promise" She knew. She could remember that. He promised Zack that he will take care of her and won't let her fade away. She also made a promise to Genesis. That she won't fall behind. When he will return, if he will return, she had to look beautiful so that he would fall for her charms all over again.

"Fine" She finally responded. She let herself be content and smiled. They smiled back.

"There are still children with Stigma." Said the wolf. Cloud nodded. Elly stood there and watched as Cloud dropped water on the little boy's head. His stigma started to disappear. Everyone started to cheer, seeing how the water was the cure to the Geostigma.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Elly chuckled at Cid's words.

"It worked! It worked!" Yuffie was really happy, as everyone else. Eloise watched how everyone was jumping in the water or cheering. She started to laugh by seeing children around them. At one point, while her eyes were traveling all around the church, she saw something that made her heart and smile drop instantly. It was Aerith kneeling in front of two little kids. Elly sqeezed Cloud's hand and grabbed his attention. She pointed towards the entrance. Aerith walked further in the back where there was Zack. Elly tried to rush there there but something didn't let her. She looked at her hand to see Cloud had a tight grip on it.

"See? Everything is alright" She tried harder but his grip tightened. After Zack waved at them, they both walked into a bright white light.

"I know. I'm not alone. Not anymore" Maybe Cloud felt like that but not Eloise. She bent her head, trying to cover the small tears that formed into her eyes. She let them fall down on her cheeks. "I will never let you go again, Elly. You're stuck with all of us, now" She looked up and realized that everyone was smiling softly at them.

Back at the bar was the real surprise. She didn't think they would make such a big fuss over her decision to stay.

"I'm so glad you'll stay here, Elly." Tifa grinned excitedly. Yuffie was jumping around and everyone looked pretty content. Marlene walked to Elly and smiled sweetly. Behind her was the young boy.

"Elly, are you going to live here from now?" She nodded. That made the small girl jump in her arms happily. Eloise was surprised but hugged her back nonetheless. After she got off, she stared at the young blushing boy.

"I am Elly. Nice to meet you-" She stopped not knowing his name.

"Denzel" She nodded to him and stuck her hand out. He shook her hand and smiled.


End file.
